Expo Line Construction Shuts Down Lanes In Santa Monica

SANTA MONICA (CBSLA.com) — Residents and commuters on the Westside faced prolonged traffic delays Tuesday as new construction on the Expo light rail line got underway.

KNX 1070’s Pete Demetriou reports anyone hoping to get into or out of Santa Monica should brace themselves for construction chaos.

Expo Line construction snarls SaMo traffic

Starting Monday afternoon, eastbound lanes on Colorado Avenue between 4th Street and 5th Street in downtown Santa Monica will be subject to lane restrictions, closures and overnight shutdowns as the light rail line and its various stations are built.

Commuters were urged to use 4th Street to Olympic Boulevard or Broadway as an alternate.

A partial closure at the intersection of Lincoln Blvd and Colorado Ave. between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. will also be in place between Broadway and and the Santa Monica (10) Freeway.

Frank Veltre, who works at an automotive service center on Colorado at 14th, said it’s not just the closures and lane restrictions on Colorado and Olympic that are the problem.

“They’ve taken lanes away on some of the other streets which they say is traffic calming, but I think it enrages people even more,” Veltre said.